That sounds like some of the best advice I have ever seen on here

yeah some real good advice.. thanks guys keep'em coming.

1) Six months of pay in savings as mentioned above
2) 401K as mentioned above
3) Don't count on pension or social security as part of retirement savings
4) Avoid consumer debt. Mortgages and students loans are not consumer debt. Everything else is.
5) Buying a house is a way to build equity. Paying rent is not. Yet when you rent, you don't pay taxes or maintenance, etc.
6) Might be excessive, but track every penny. I use Microsoft Money.
7) Every penny you put away today will grow exponentially in value. Money definitely has a time value. If you blow it all today and start saving ten years from now, you will never catch up. But then again someday you might end up in a home and sign over your life savings to the state anyway, so your mileage may very.

I try to follow the above (except for #4 since I have a loan on the van and #1 since I am aggressively paying off debt, in hindsight I wouldn't have done that). I am in my 20'* and my net worth is in the top 15% of those in my age bracket.

EDIT: Forgot one
8) If you buy a house, DON'T get the most expensive one that the bank says you can afford. When they say "debt to income ratio", believe it. I would almost suggest getting a house that keeps your debt to income ratio lower than the suggested average. Of course this may mean a house that appreciates less, then again it may not. Life'* a balance.

Avoid debt....

http://www.daveramsey.com

I just downloaded Microsoft Money Deluxe, i think this is going to help me start paying off my credit cards and maybe save a little. I just have never been conscious of my money before, just spending it like i have it... but thats about to change...

just to add to what everyone has said about saving for retirement, its estimated that you will need to save at least $1,000,000 to live a happy retirement for 20 years, just something to dwell on

And that is in today'* dollars, right?

probably. but i think it inflation may have been included in the calculation, not sure. i learned it in economics class this past spring.